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Top Belarusian state-owned retailer encouraged to pursue online trade

MINSK, 8 October (BelTA) – The Belarusian National Union of Consumer Societies (Belkoopsoyuz) should develop the online trade segment. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko suggested it at a general meeting of representatives of the members of the Belarusian National Union of Consumer Societies on 8 October, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I don’t compare you with major retailers in Minsk. It is not difficult to bring products to one retail outlet and reap the profits. But not every retailer can reach every small village in the middle of nowhere. But there are solutions for that, too. Look how much the Internet and online trade have developed in the last few years.”

According to the National Statistics Committee, $1.1 billion worth of goods were sold over the year. This segment of the market grows by an average of 20% per year.

Aleksandr Lukashenko agreed that it might be difficult for elderly Belarusians to order goods online. “But their children could do it for them. And you could deliver the goods as part of this order. Start doing it without damaging your finances and evaluate it. It will be important for me as an economist, who is accustomed to trusting concrete facts. Let’s see what this experiment can do for Belkoopsoyuz,” the head of state said.

“If you are going to work in Minsk, you will definitely have to compete,” he added. As an example he mentioned popular pizza delivery services. “People order a pizza and it gets delivered in a box right away. You could sell your own pastry instead of pizza online here. Trust me there will be plenty of orders. In other words, it is necessary to work everywhere in order to earn money,” the president stressed.

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